Book 2: Chapter 75: Finding Purpose

Book 2: Chapter 75: Finding Purpose

As we strode over grass and between trunks, a slight breeze rustled the canopy above us. The scents of earth and decaying leaf litter drifted on the air, dulling the edges of my troubled thoughts.

Maria gazed up at the gaps of blue sky filtering through the trees. “Something about the forest here always makes me feel... calm.”

I looked up, focusing on the leaves’ hypnotic movement. “I know what you mean.”

A powerful gust blew, making the scene chaotic for a few seconds. A soft roar came from the canopy as thousands of leaves shifted, sounding almost like a crashing wave. The sharp edge of my worries dulled further as Maria squeezed my hand, giving me a smile that was oh-so beautiful.

“So.” She swung our arms comically high with each step, not once breaking eye contact. “What’s up?”

I faced forward, my gaze going distant as the words formed. “Okay, so let me preface this by saying it’s probably ridiculous.”

She stopped walking, holding me firmly in place and giving me a knowing smile. “You know you don’t need to diminish your feelings like that, right?”

I opened my mouth to respond, then pressed my lips into a line, making a cute giggle come from Maria.

“Don’t give me that look,” she said. “Tell me what you’re feeling. I’m not going to judge you or call it ridiculous, so you don’t need the disclaimer attached.”

Walking once more, I tried again.

“So... seeing Sue and Sturgill’s reactions kind of made me realize everyone has probably had a similar experience. There’s no easy way to let someone know that there’s an entire group of people that have become cultivators.”

She nodded. “Yeah, you’re right. There’s probably no good way of doing it.”

“The thing is, though, they’re the lucky ones. Anyone being recruited by Barry and that bunch of well-intentioned maniacs has a support system to ease them into the whole cultivator thing. Now that Sturgill awakened just by creating some bloody danishes... well, it stands to reason that other people are going to awaken. People who have no support network and are going to be terrified of what it means for them. Worse, what happens if immoral people awaken? I trust every single person in the church inherently, and we were lucky that it was Sturgill that awakened of his own accord. What happens when a sociopath becomes a cultivator? Or that dickhead noble, Osnan or whatever, that took a swing at me the other week? If he was a cultivator and I was a commoner, he’d have slapped my head clean off.”

We stepped from the thick canopy into the sparsely occupied sky of Lemon’s clearing. The pollinators swarmed the citrus trees above us, buzzing around from flower to flower. It was a beautiful sight. Despite how much Maria loved to watch their movement, her eyes were focused on me, appearing a light blue in the sunlight beaming down from above.

“Do you feel responsible for all those people that might ascend?” she asked.

“I do.”

“That’s a lot of weight to shoulder, Fischer.”

“It is,” I agreed. “As much as I want to spend my days fishing with you, though, I’m not sure I can ignore it. We know what happens when I bottle things up and pretend they don’t exist.”

She gave me a wry smile. “Yeah—you obliterate trees. Worse, you alienate me—a crime most foul.”

I laughed at the jab, knowing there was no malice hidden in her words.

“Do you want to hear my opinion?” she asked.

“Of course.”

“Okay. Well, as per usual, you’re being too hard on yourself. But,” she added before I could protest, “that doesn’t mean you should ignore it. If you feel responsible, trying to do something about it is probably the right move.”

As I thought about that, we both sat down at the base of Lemon’s trunk. I ran my hands through the grass there, taking solace in the lingering cold of the night gone. Lieutenant Colonel Lemony Thicket extended thick roots from the ground beside Maria and I. I rested a hand on one, soaking in the love I felt radiating from Lemon.

“Oh! Good morning, Lemon!” Maria said, giggling at a leaf tickling her leg.

“Where do I even begin doing something about an entire world’s worth of people that could be becoming cultivators?” I asked.

“One step at a time,” she replied easily.

I grabbed a few blades of grass, weaving them together as I glanced Maria’s way. “You know, it’s infuriating that you’re always right.”

“The sooner you get used to it, the better.” She winked. “We’ve got a whole life of me being right about everything ahead of us.”

I rolled my eyes, causing her grin to broaden.

“What’s the first step, though?” I asked.

“Well, what usually helps you think?”

I thought for only a moment. “Honestly? When I have something to do. If my hands aren’t busy, it’s like I get paralyzed by negativity.”

She nodded. “Then that’s your first step—finding something to do that gives you purpose.”

“Something to do...” I mused, looking around the clearing. Half sunlight and half shadow, it never failed to take my breath away. The bees flying between branches lit up when they flew into the sun, fading once more when they reached the next flower. It was almost like the tiny embers dancing above a campfire, burning bright before disappearing.

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“Oh!” I sat up straight, eyes widening as I stared at the patches of sun. “I think I know what to do!”

“Oooh, what is it?”

“Well, it kind of depends.” I swiveled to face Lemon’s trunk. “How do you feel about having some more life in your clearing?”

With my hand held to the root she’d extended, I felt an odd mix of emotions coming from her. Then, with absolutely no warning, she shook her entire trunk forward and back, nodding her tree body like it was a head.

Neat.

I went to dismiss it, but the System shoved another notification through.

You have learned Chi Manipulation.

“Oi, you cheeky prick. I didn’t ask for you to show me the alert from the other da—”

Another one was thrown through, assaulting my visual field.

You have advanced to fishing 63!

I slammed my will into the notifications, forcefully cutting them off for good. I let out a string of expletives and bent to pick up a stick—yeeting it through the forest might make me feel better. There were no longer any branches in the planters, however. I blinked at the bare earth where the layer of sticks had been.

“Fischer...?” Maria asked, face lined with worry.

“What’s up?”

“What’s up? You just used a string of words I’m pretty sure were horrifically offensive where you come from.”

Claws held a paw to her mouth, taking an indignant gasp.

“Yeah, it was justified, though. I let the System show me that message about learning horticulture, but it snuck in a couple more. I’m pretty sure it would have kept going if I didn’t slam the door closed, the cheeky little fracker.”

Maria gave me an unreadable look as she reached out and touched my hand. “You know we’re going to have to unbox that one day, right?”

Claws nodded sagely, but I was pretty sure she had no idea what Maria meant either.

“Unbox what?” I asked.

“Why you don’t like reading the System notifications.”

I sighed, not walking to confront it. “One existential crisis at a time.”

“When we get back from our trip,” she pushed. “We’re going to talk about it.”

I pouted. “Fine.”

“Good. Now, if you’ll excuse me, we have some brand new planter boxes to inspect.”

She let go of me, leaning over the closest one. Her eyes went distant, so I looked down too, expecting it to draw me in—it didn’t.

“Huh...?” Maria asked. “We can’t I inspect it?”

I shook my head. “You can’t inspect everything.”

“... why?”

I shrugged. “I have absolutely no idea. Couldn’t do so with the beehive, either.” I pointed down at the planters. “It’s definitely changed, just not enough to be considered a magical item or whatever, I guess.”

The grains of wood had tightened and condensed, making it much less cumbersome. At the corners where we’d nailed the planks together, metal brackets now lined the outside, secured with way more nails than I had actually used.

“If only we had some sort of generated text messages from the System...” Maria trailed off meaningfully. “Maybe they could have explained why...”

I gave her a flat glare, but couldn’t keep it up for long as her lips curled. “Yeah, yeah. Point taken.”

She patted me on the shoulder. “Like you said—one crisis at a time, my love.”

The statement, so easily voiced, made birds take flight in my core. It must have shown on my face, because Maria leaned in close.

“Oooh, you liked that.”

My face heating, I nodded.

Claws jumped up onto my shoulder, leaning in with a look that said she sensed weakness.

“Well, then,” Maria said, sweeping in toward me. She got up on her tiptoes and planted a peck on my lips, pulling back to stare into my eyes. “Let’s go get some soil, my love.”

Claws let out another gasp, scandalized.

I grabbed Maria around the waist with one arm and pulled her close, using the other to cover Claws’s eyes. Maria and I melted into each other, heat blooming everywhere our bodies made contact. All too soon, we separated, both left taking heavy breaths.

Claws jumped to the ground and mimed being sick.

I ignored her; my eyes were only for Maria. “Come on. Let's get that soil.”

She scrunched her face up at me. “Tease.”

“You started it,” I said, messing up her hair. “I have a fun idea for transporting the dirt that might cheer you up...”